Reviews by Kicksmile67:

This was just another beer by my standards. The appearnce was nothing unique with a golden color and a moderate head. The smell was hoppy and almost bitter. The taste was mild at first with a powerful bitter finish. Dominant hop flavors overpower the other notes. The mouthfeel is caulky and thin, but is someone expected from the smell and color so not a bad trait. Over all drinkability isnt fantastic but good for a tasting with friends.

L: Brilliant gold to amber under a 1” clingy white foam cap.
S: Grassy, grain, light malt, not a lot of hops, smells like the inside of a malt house as the steep tanks empty into the kiln.
T: No caramel but a light malt sweetness, fresh grain, light fruit, citrus.
F: Very creamy medium light to medium body, medium carbonation, smooth, dry finish
O: A well made and easy to drink American pale ale.

Deep orange/gold beer with an off white head that leaves a fine curtain of lacing behind. The aroma is lightly sweet with a hint of peach, flowers, yeast and a hop spiciness. The taste is lightly sweet as well with a grass and melon taste the ends with a deceptive bitterness. This is a nice balanced and pleasant beer.

GLBC makes some of my favorite beers of all time and I suspect this one should be pretty okay as well. I've seen it hundreds of times yet never bought it due to the fact I could never find it in a single bottle. But I finally did at a meager $1.69. Sidenote, if you notice some typos and out of place words, I bought a new phone and am still trying to get it to recognize my unique way of typing heh. Lets do it.

Look - From the twelve ounce bottle hare poured into a pint glass. This brew pours a murky amber color with a finger and a half of off white head that leaves some immediate stick as it slowly dies down into the swill. Carbonation appears to be nearly dead...old bottle perhaps? Nope, good till next month.

Smell - The noise is rather buttery without a whole lot of hop presence to speak of. Virtually all buttered bread like if that makes any sense. Never picked that up in a beer until now. Doesn't smell bad but it is quite underwhelming.

Taste - The flavor profile turns up a bit. The hops are quite earthy with the apparent buttered bread aspect still retaining for the long haul of things. There is a noticeable juiciness from the cascade hops that sticks around for a long long year, again followed by some more earthy, but not oniony nor garlicky hops.

Feel - The body is extraordinarily clean for a beer like this though it does retain a bit of depth. Clean with a touch of creamy aspects and a bit of a sprite like flavor coming through as it sits in the mouth. Swallows with a low bitterness.

Overall - Not exactly what was expecting and certainly unique for the style. Not great but certainly not bad. Hops weren't as pronounced as you'd think but what was there was fairly tasty. Easy drinker but I wouldn't buy it again since this isn't my preferred flavor profile. Try it for yourself and come to your own conclusions

Some of us are old enough (barely) to remember that fateful summer day in '69 when the Cuyahoga River caught fire. Cleveland has really come a long way since then. It's a great town!

Not quite clear orange-amber with fine carbonation and a firm, French vanilla colored lid that has good staying power and leaves abundant lace. The aroma is bright and hoppy, smelling primarily of lemon and grapefruit zest. The flavor is well-hopped with a lovely bitterness. Again, grapefruit peel (Cascade?) is dominant.

Burning River isn't overly complex, but it's a more than solid, straightforward, high-quality pale ale. The finish is austere, with more than a hint of dryness. The mouthfeel is medium for the style. I could drink this beer all day and all night.

A couple of thoughts. GLBC seems to be incapable of brewing anything but outstanding beer across a wide range of styles. After sampling three of their offerings, I'm convinced that they have absolutely nailed down head/lace and carbonation/mouthfeel. Lastly, this bottle had a 'best by' date of Sept. 18, '03, a full 3 months before I purchased it and 3+ months before this review. I detected no problems whatsoever.

Pours a cloudy golden color with a very minimal head that soon disappears into nothing.
Smells of orange, pine, herbal hops
Taste is a creamy herbal hop up front followed by a sweet malt, finishing dry and semi bitter.
Mouthfeel: Moderately thick, this is a creamier pale ale by far
Overall: Excellent, very easy drinking

Appearance – This is a nice, bright orange in color with a very thick white head.

Smell – The hops are big here for an APA with massive grapefruit and a small, toasty malt compliment. The pine, citrus, and grapefruit are in perfect harmony in this hop bouquet and really this is one of the most pleasantly-balanced hop profiles I’ve ever smelled.

Taste – The hops are here at the taste as well. They show tons of depth and overshadow the malts which are quite good actually if understated. This is a strong, hoppy brew though make no mistake about that.

Mouthfeel – This is surprisingly thick, a solid medium-bodied, with little carbonation but it’s not flat. The beer has a very creamy texture but is also quite bitter throughout. If you like smooth, creamy, bitter hops then this burn’s for you.

Drinkability – This went down extremely well but it is a rather big beer so be prepared for that. This is not a light-drinker APA, it is a heavy, thick beer that is best consumed on an empty stomach. If you can take it, or if you are just a big fan of smooth, hoppy ales then you’ll love this beer.

A: Yellowish amber with a hint of haziness. Some visible carbonation pillars rising quickly. Soft white one finger head. Dissipated to a fine head throughout and leaves nice large topographical lacing.

S: Surprisingly aggressive hop nose. Fresh, floral, grapefruit and lemony. It has a strong Cascade character. A little malt sweetness but hop dominates. Malt becomes stronger and biscuity toward the end of the drink.

T: Nice clean grapefruit hop bite with a solid caramel malt backbone. This has to be pushing toward an IPA. I'm not going to complain about that! It is well done. The malt manages to hold it's own and adds levels of sweetness under the hop that make the fruitiness take on more peach type characteristics. Lovely!

M: Light body, crisp, dry mouth. Medium carbonation that is very active but not too aggressive in the mouth. Aftertaste leaves a nice hop bite on the back of the throat.

D: A very enjoyable beer. One of the better APA's I have had. I would drink another if I had one but sadly I don't. I have yet to have a bad beer from Great Lakes - gotta love that!